Sherry's first, her last, her everything
by Mark 'Manix' Odell
Summary: I've had to re-release it - please review again if you have already do so! For those who haven't seen it, Sherry gets jealous when Rebecca comes to stay...
1. Default Chapter

It was now approaching sometime during mid-November, more than a month after the Raccoon City disaster that had literally wiped the town off the face of the earth and had supposedly ended the entire scenario. Which was not the case, of course. Already the remaining survivors of all the disasters were speeding to Europe to counter-attack the Umbrella Corporation, although maybe with different motifs. At least most of them had. 

Chris Redfield had gone to Europe to investigate the Umbrella Labs, having left Raccoon City only a few days before the entire city was wiped out by a nuclear blast.

Claire Redfield had gone to find Chris – her brother – and, so set was she on her destiny she left two of the other survivors behind her, promising she would return.

Barry Burton had accompanied Chris to Paris, for that was where he went. 

The whereabouts were unknown, but she would turn up again.

Jill's escape from the city has also taken her to be with Chris…

Who are the other survivors, the survivors who are the focus of this tale? 

Leon S. Kennedy, Sherry Birkin and Rebecca Chambers.

It was a rainy evening. The rain beat down hard on the pines, and the trees themselves were savaged by the wind that roared in from the north. In the small town of Wolverines Creek, approximately one hundred miles north of Raccoon City a small community lived their happy lives, blissfully unaware of the chaos that had taken place in the south in the days between July and October 1998. Leon drove the black sedan down the tarmac mountain road, listening to the sounds of the raindrops plopping on the roof and windshield, occasionally wiping away the raindrops with the windscreen wipers when the layer of water got too dense. He sighed, and slid the steering wheel slightly left as he entered a thick tunnel of trees that waved above him as the wind savaged them. His hands were cold, his feet were almost numb and he was almost soaked to the skin. He was wondering why he was even there. He hadn't been employed for nearly a month and a half now, at least technically speaking. Officially, he was a police officer. At least, if the word Police Officer was defined as a man who was now in the custody of the government with one of the only survivors of the Raccoon disaster – Sherry Birkin. Claire had disappeared a month and a bit ago, and they hadn't parted on the best of terms.

Leon had grown closer to Sherry over the last six weeks after Claire had gone off to find her brother, Chris. He'd felt more like the protector now, and while Claire might have done a better job than he, Sherry didn't mind.

Of course, Claire's decision to disappear had angered Leon – Sherry needs you, he'd said. Claire had argued back, saying that Chris also needed her.

Chris is a grown man, Leon had shot back. He's also the only brother I have, she'd snapped back in reply. In the end, when Leon had heard of the US Government coming to claim them, he'd said that Claire's decision to go would probably be a good idea. Claire had taken that the wrong way, and savaged him with a range of angry insults that ended in him yelling at her 'FINE! JUST GET OUT OF HERE AND LEAVE US ALONE!' 

Claire had given him a hard look, but had softened slightly when she said, in a softer voice than before, that she would return. 

Sherry had also felt a little bitter at Claire's decision to go and find her brother, but they both felt the same about Claire now – They wanted her back. They wanted to see her again. So far, no word of her had been received. About a day after she'd left, the soldiers had arrived in force, M-16's loaded and ready, soldiers yelling at them to surrender.

The Government, quick to quash any security leaks about the unspeakable crimes of Umbrella Inc. had turned up pretty quickly, and the two of them were soon in Government Custody. To Leon's bemusement, he realised that him and Sherry held all the cards – They were the witnesses, they could speak whenever and to whoever about it, they hadn't actually done anything wrong and it was the government who would have to try and cut the deal…but Leon would have the say. 

He'd been asked by a rather nervy looking official what his terms were. Leon had said that the main condition was that Sherry would stay with him. At first, the official had hesitated – but had conceded under threat of Leon 'speaking out' 

They had eventually decided that Leon would have a small house in an obscure part of the country with Sherry, and approximately $200,000 for personal use. 

Unfortunately, the house would be watched, and patrolled every now and then, and but the guards weren't allowed to stop visitors unless they looked 'suspicious' which Leon defined as nearly everybody.

So it had come to pass that him and Sherry had gone to live in a small house in Wolverines creek, miles from the nearest city, which suited Leon fine. Yet Leon was not intent on staying there forever. He had been wondering when they'd 'disappear' themselves for a while now, and he'd decided that 'not yet' was the answer. 

He drove the Sedan into the main street of Wolverine's Creek, and around the corner towards the outskirts. The main street was dismally ordinary – A general store, a gas station, a few shops and a local bar where local folk revelled in telling wild stories that were about as substantial as mist. He'd remembered the first and only time he'd gone in there, he'd told his story – and had practically been jeered out of the bar for making it up, which was ironic because his was the only story that was actually true. 

Their house was separate from the rest, in fact it was nearly a mile from the nearest house – which was fine. The locals were hardly friendly, and the few children that were there were about as mentally empowered as root vegetables – and that was Sherry's opinion. 

He drove on, past the last houses of the few roads in the town and went on for a few minutes before pulling into the drive of the small house Sherry and him shared. He stopped the engine, put the brake on, and ran to the trunk of the car, removing a few large bags before running to the door, opening it after a fumbling of keys, and jumping thankfully inside. As he closed the door, he heard Sherry shout

"LEON!" 

She ran to him and practically cut off the circulation in his waist as she squeezed. He blushed, he was touched by this reaction of Sherry's, and in response, hugged her back, patting her head as he hugged.

"I'm back" he said softly.

It was warm, and very cosy in the house, and Sherry led him into the front room, where he lit a fire in the fireplace. As the fire began to burn, he took off his jacket, and hung it above the fireplace so it would dry. He removed his shoes and socks, and allowed his feet to warm up by the fire. Sherry snuggled beside him.

"How was the trip?" she said.

"Fine. Got a little wet though" 

She smiled.

"It's just as well you did – Come back I mean – I've wanted some pizza for ages"

Another speciality of the town was its complete inefficiency at almost anything. Leon now knew the routine, he would go into the general store, ask for something, and if they had it, he'd have to wait for about fifteen minutes as the man at the counter eyed him suspiciously while searching for the goods he needed. If he didn't have the goods Leon wanted, he'd either click with his tongue, whistle or draw in a breath, which was usually followed by either 'Well…' 'Oh Dear' or 'Wish I could, but…'

And a further ten minutes would be spent explaining to Leon why he couldn't get hold of the goods, which was either because 'The Pennsylvania express is slow today' or there had been some kind of horrific accident that meant the new stock was lost somehow. 

Which was why Leon only ever went there in case of real emergencies. Usually he went out of town, which usually required a forty-five minute drive into the nearest larger town and buy something from the supermarket. And there were never any spaces so it took fifteen minutes to walk to and from the place. 

It had been raining hard nearly all day, and it had been raining hard. Sherry liked Pizza, and so did he. The local shop didn't sell pizza, so he'd bought enough to last them three weeks. He had also got them enough food to last a good couple of weeks, leaving a while before they had to drive out of town, or walk down to the local store.

"How's it been?" Leon asked.

"Okay. It's a little boring during power cuts, we can't watch TV, play games or anything"

"You're right" Leon said, and sank backwards into sofa, Sherry still snuggled up beside him. Just as he felt that there was some kind of balance to his precarious existence, something came along and ruined it all. Which was precisely what was about to happen.

As Leon began to feel sleepy, the doorbell rang loudly.

"I'll get it" Leon said, softly, and walked off towards the front door.

Sherry watched him go.

She sighed as she found her gaze wandering up his body, seeing every part of his body at a full alert. 

It wasn't just the physical qualities of Leon that Sherry loved – it was everything else about him, right from his sense of humour that practically suffocated her she laughed so hard, to his sweet and protective personality that left him as a shoulder to lean on.

She sighed.

She was only twelve, but she felt a connection with him. She wanted him more than a shoulder to lean on…it was unnatural for a girl for her age, but for the first time she wanted to be with a man forever. 

'Of course it's not love' she kept telling herself 'Love's like it is in the movies – Isn't it?' 

An inner voice told her that this was absolute swamp gas, and tried to give her a blow-by-blow account of when the physical symptoms showed. Such as the fact she felt her spine tingle whenever he put his hand on her, the fact she savoured every single scent from his body, the fact that even his voice could soothe her when she was agitated or upset. Was it love? She really wasn't sure. She felt a great deal of love for him, like a brother…or a dad, even…but somehow, she couldn't see him as those kinds of figures exactly…he was more of an idol, a protector…another word flashed in her mind that she felt physically embarrassed at thinking – Lover. He was twenty-five or something like that, grow up Sherry! She told herself. But somehow, she felt like their destinies were permanently linked. 

She also felt as if she wasn't whole when Leon wasn't around. Claire had been nice, and she missed her greatly…But…

_Oh Leon…_she sighed _I love you…so much…you don't understand how I feel…_

"Uh…" Leon walked in through the door, holding a slip of notepaper in his hand, looking confused. 

"What's up?" she asked, always worried when Leon was either looking worried or just plain confused. 

"Do you remember Rebecca?" Leon asked.

Sherry frowned. She was always ready to make Leon feel as if he was talking to a mature adult…perhaps he'd like her more if… 

"Vaguely, didn't we meet her once? At one of those strategy meeting-thingies?" 

When they had their 'strategy meetings' it was basically just an excuse for Leon, Chris and Barry to argue, and for Rebecca to occasionally nod and feed in some input.

Ah, yes. Rebecca. Rebecca she had to say, was not one of the most mature people she'd ever met. She may have been a bio-chemist, but she was essentially still a teenager, even if she was eighteen. When she wasn't inputting useful chemical and virus related information, she was reading magazines and giggling inanely at those articles about people with impotency problems. Rebecca was, she found it grudging to admit, nice, but Rebecca spoke to her as if she was the most mature person on the surface of the earth and that Sherry was just a 'little girl', which of course was untrue.

While Sherry knew that she was little, she was not (in maturity definition anyway) a little girl. She was twelve, and while the worst of adolescence was yet to hit her – She felt a whole lot wiser having seen Raccoon City, and even wiser feeling the way she did about Leon.

Leon…So sweet…so handsome…

She was shocked at herself thinking this. Oh my god, she told herself, you really are getting obsessed.

"I got a call from Barry. He says that apparently where Rebecca's living is too dangerous at the moment, so it would be best if she stayed here"

Sherry felt as if she'd just been delivered a physical blow. She almost choked, as if somebody had told her she was going to die. Rebecca….staying here?

Her mind raced. She tried to remember anything else about Rebecca. She didn't like the idea of another woman staying with them, let alone a girl only a few years separated from Leon. Sherry suddenly felt very defensive. She didn't want any girl moving in with them at the moment, and, she was surprised to learn, she didn't want Claire there either. She knew Leon had one hell of a crush on her, and somehow she just didn't want the hassle of Claire being there – Sherry liked it the way it was.

She suddenly remembered Rebecca and her reactions to Leon. Giggling at EVERYTHING he said, regardless of whether or not he was trying to be funny, and giving him one of those sad girly smiles whenever he gave her a reassuring smile…Oh god, it was nigh on pathetic, it was like a dog longing for its masters leg. Why couldn't it be just her and Leon? She enjoyed life as it was!

She clenched her fist.

"So…is she actually coming?"  
"It says she'll be here later tonight – Barry asked, so I said Okay. You see, I wasn't sure what you'd say, but I'm sure you don't mind do you?"

"Uh…no" 

Sherry didn't know what to say, she was practically catatonic. Surely Leon's joking? She can't be staying…

"For how…long?" she croaked. 

"A couple of months" Leon replied.

A COUPLE OF MONTHS?! 

Sherry was almost dizzy. 

"A…couple of months…?" she gasped.

Leon looked at her oddly.

"You don't sound too pleased" he said. 

Sherry suddenly found her mouth moving and her vocal chords making speech without her saying so.

"No, I'm not!" she found herself saying "We're doing fine as we are, aren't we?"

To her minds surprise, she jumped up and threw herself against him, squeezing him hard "Call and say she can't stay…please?" she pleaded.

Leon shook his head, softly.

"That's kind of rude Sherry – Don't worry about it, I'm sure you'll get on just fine – after all, it's only a few months"

Somehow, Sherry felt as if she was in the Coliseum and the name of her next opponent had been announced: Rebecca.

If Rebecca was here and there didn't appear to be a problem, she wouldn't mind. But if she was here and she was going to drool over him…then a state of war would be declared.

# END OF PART ONE


	2. Chapter 2

It was now late evening, Sherry had been anticipating Rebecca's arrival for a while now – Would she be more mature, or would she be here to do her puppy dog impression?

She decided to spend more time with Leon, and so for the rest of the day she spent her time snuggled up to him, feeling his warmth and enjoying the touch of his body.

When he'd given her a kiss on the head, she felt as if she was about to sprout angel wings and fly away.

'He's mine' she told herself 'He's mine, and no-one else can have him' 

Selfish, she knew – But she didn't have much in life, and so she felt that Leon may as well be hers.

Suddenly, as if to jar her mind from its fixed position on cloud nine, the doorbell rang. She suddenly realised, with a twinge of horror that that could only be Rebecca. She'd been hoping she wouldn't turn up, and that she'd suddenly changed her mind or something. 

But Rebecca obviously hadn't. She had remembered all right, and as if the funeral march was playing in the background, she bowed her head as Leon went to the door.

"Hi!" she heard him say.

"Hi Leon!" she replied, in that 'happy' voice of hers.

At least Claire sounded less like a child.

"Looking forward to staying?"

"I am, really!"

Sherry rolled her eyes.

Leon walked into the room, followed by Rebecca. Rebecca was carrying two suitcases, and she was dressed in jeans and a scarlet jumper. She was a pretty girl, but looks weren't everything, Sherry told herself.

"Well, why don't I leave you two to have a chat, I'm going to make us some drinks, whaddya want?"  
"Hot chocolate" Rebecca and Sherry said, simultaneously. Sherry glared at Rebecca, but she was looking at Leon…Sherry dreaded it would happen, and it was true. As Leon went into the kitchen, Rebecca's gaze trailed over Leon as he left the room. 

Rebecca sighed.

"Ah…"

"What're you sighing about?" Sherry asked, as innocently as she could.

"Have…you ever been in love, Sherry?" Rebecca asked.

Sherry felt as if somebody had crammed a football down her throat.

"Yeah…"

"Was it real love?"

What kind of a stupid question was that? 

"I don't know…I know what love is" Sherry replied. She knew she wasn't talking about previous experience – She knew that she was talking about how she felt at the moment…Sherry nearly sighed too.

Rebecca gave her a lopsided smile.

"Well…I think I know too…" she gazed off towards the kitchen.

Sherry was almost insulted that Rebecca was assuming she didn't know what she was talking about. Then, a sympathetic side of Sherry came out of her pure annoyance at Rebecca.

'Give her a chance' she told herself 'Surely she's not all that bad, is she?' 

"So how do you know you're in love?"

Rebecca sighed again, a long-suffering sigh.

"Because I tingle when I'm in his presence, I'm just so…malleable in his presence, you know? I'm putty in his hands"

"Who is 'he' exactly?"

Rebecca blushed, and tipped her head down a little.

"Well…It's a little embarrassing…"  
"Leon, huh?" Sherry replied.

Rebecca looked up, a little surprised.

"How did you-?"

As if I hadn't already guessed, Sherry thought, the angry part of her coming back.

"So do you think that him and me-"

"No" Sherry cut in, abruptly trying to end Rebecca's little dream.

Rebecca looked a little hurt by this. 

"Well…I don't care if that is what you think, I'm going to go for it anyway…" she looked up "It was meant to be…"

Sherry clenched her fists.

If it was meant to be, she was meant to live with an Alsatian for the rest of her life. 

"I don't know, I think he's kind of got eyes for Claire…"

Good one Sherry, she told herself, that'll throw her off.

"But Claire isn't here at the moment, is she? A few months is long enough for things to develop…"

Well, well, well…So she's a little schemer too?

She's been planning this, hasn't she? She was desperate for this moment, to get within reach of Leon…

Sherry narrowed her eyes, and clenched her fist yet harder. If war was what Rebecca wanted, then war was what she'd damned well get.

Leon was only a few minutes, carrying the mugs of hot chocolate in with an easy smile that both Sherry and Rebecca melted at. 

"So, what have you been up to Rebecca?" Leon asked, politely.

Sherry tolerated this. It was only polite conversation at the moment – At least.

"Nothing much" Rebecca said, stirring her finger in her hot chocolate "I've been hanging around at my house mostly, Chris told me to stay put so I did"

"Any hassle? From Umbrella?"

"None at all"

Leon nodded.

"Well, that's a good thing. Any run-ins with Umbrella on the way here?"

"They haven't even come close – I don't know what's going on" Rebecca replied.

Sherry could see that Rebecca was avoiding the subject with a vengeance, desperately trying to become more personal. Either that, Sherry thought, or I'm being paranoid. Which I am being, a little I guess. 

"Where were you staying?"

"Somewhere in Milwaukee. Barry said that it wouldn't be advisable for me to stay"

"Right…Barry knows what he's talking about, I'm sure"

Rebecca leaned forward.

"But enough about me…what about you? What have you been up to?"

Sherry eased herself gently into the conversation.

"We've been living by ourselves here for a while, and things haven't been too bad, huh Leon?"

"That's right!" Leon smiled and gave Sherry a squeeze, at which she grinned, and squeezed him back "We've been holding the fort pretty well"

"Sounds like it's been pretty good for you two here!" Rebecca said, smiling. The harsh conversation she'd had with Sherry appeared to have been forgotten – temporarily, at least. 

Leon gave her an indecisive look.

"Well…I can't say it's been fantastic – We're always being hassled by Special Forces guys, to check up on us to see if we're 'still here' and they are watching the house on a pretty regular basis, so sometimes you feel as if you're taking part in a soap opera"

Rebecca giggled.

"I've got a pretty intimate view into life here, huh?"

They talked quite long into the night, although Sherry's feelings about Rebecca remained vastly unchanged, they could at least talk without spitting insults at each other in a fairly friendly atmosphere.

Sherry didn't HATE Rebecca. It wasn't that she didn't like her either, she wasn't too bad apart from her annoying crush on Leon.

'And yours is no worse?' Sherry's inner voice said again 'Look at you – You're twelve and you've got the biggest crush on Leon the world has ever seen!'

'It's not a crush!' she would tell her inner voice.

'Well if it's not that, then it's love'

That had effectively ended her mental argument.

Leon looked at his watch.

"Well, I think it's time we all hit the sack – I'm dead beat"

"Yeah, me too" Rebecca replied "I was just wondering…where am I staying?"

"The guestroom's ready and prepared – I hope it's to your liking, madam?" he said the last part of his statement in a strong French accent. Sherry couldn't help but giggle, she loved Leon's impressions.

Rebecca giggled too.

"I'll go and unpack" she said, and stood up, picking up her cases before jaunting across the hall and up the stairs. 

Leon watched her go, and then turned back to Sherry.

"Your bedtime too, young lady" he said, in an almost comical way.

Sherry rolled her eyes.

"Yeah! I know!"

Leon smiled, and then picked her up bodily, carrying her up the stairs. Sherry clung to his shoulders, eyes closed, breathing against his shoulder. Leon always carried her to her bed, it was like he wanted to stay close to her just before he decided to sleep. That was one of her favourite parts of the days she spent with Leon. 

Sherry couldn't sleep. She could usually, and on a fairly regular basis. She was thinking hard. She was thinking about Leon. 

She found herself keeping a mental diary of Rebecca's every single movement, her possibly suggestive movements in her conversations with Leon. She found it strange she was feeling so defensive all of a sudden. In any other circumstances, she wouldn't have particularly minded, nor particularly cared about Rebecca coming to stay.

Her heart was pressured by several emotions: One, was sadness. This was that she knew that getting to Leon would not be able to happen until she grew up. Two was joy. This was that she would possibly spend all of those years with Leon up until the day he might finally become attracted to her. There was also some worry in there. This emotion made itself felt with a vengeance, her worry that Rebecca would indeed get to Leon, the worry that Leon wouldn't come to love her the way she loved him…she was worried about a lot of things. She also felt annoyed that Rebecca even had the nerve to go near HER man. 

'Your man, Sherry?' her mind said again 'Since when, exactly?'

She pushed this away. She lay in her bed, tossing and turning. She couldn't bear it any longer, she decided to go see Leon. To tell him. That would be the right thing to do. It might also get it off her heart.

She climbed out of bed, and after a moment to get her balance, she walked out onto the landing. It was dark, Leon was always the last to go to bed, so he always turned off the lights. She tiptoed, barefoot, since she was only wearing her nightshirt past Rebecca's room.

She made her way down the landing, making sure not to wake Rebecca. She didn't want to wake her up, because if she did – Whatever next? Questions would be asked, there would be a row…and she didn't want that.

She reached Leon's door, and slowly pushed the door open. Light spilled into the room, and Sherry looked on Leon as he lay, half wrapped in his bedsheet's, asleep.

Her heart almost melted as she saw him lie there, it was like watching an angel sleep.

Sherry took a breath. This would be difficult.

She tiptoed into the room, and leaned over Leon. She could feel his breath she was leaning so close. She sighed. 

She just wanted to stay in this position forever, to just spend her time feeling his breath on her cheek.

Suddenly, there was a grunt from Leon.

"Mm…?" he groaned.

Then, he saw her and leapt up, pulling out the Desert Eagle from under his pillow, and pointing it at her. Sherry nearly screamed, but when Leon finally recognised her, he smiled and put it down. Her rubbed his blurry eyes.

"…Sherry? What are you doing up?" he asked, softly, still saturated with sleep.

"I just…wanted…"

"…Wanted what?" he asked, still smiling, inviting Sherry to sit beside him on the bed. She nodded gratefully, and sat beside him "Nightmares again, huh?"  
Sherry found herself nodding.

"Well I'm always here, Sherry – Talk to me about it" he put his arm comfortingly around her, making her feel warm and protected.

"Well…" Sherry fumbled with her words, she didn't know what to say now, words just stuck in her throat "Have you ever…felt something for someone and you know that…there's going to be a while before you two get together?"

Leon appeared to ponder this for a moment.

"Have you got the hots for somebody?" he asked, softly and not the least bit incredulously.

"Uh…"

"Don't worry, I won't pressure you about it – But believe me, if you really love this person enough then it'll be worth the wait"

Sherry nodded, understanding. She threw her arms around him.

"Leon, you're the best guy in the whole world…" she whispered, face buried in his chest.

Leon looked a little startled at both her expression and her action, but her smile made him warm to it.

"That's okay, Sherry" then he added "Did you have any nightmares after all?"

"Uh…" Sherry didn't want to make her intentions too obvious.

"Kind of"

"The same one?"

"Uh-huh" Sherry replied in the positive.

He gave her a hug.

"Just don't think about it now" he squeezed her, and she gave a nervous smile, a little bashful.

"Uh…Leon?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I…spend the rest of the night with you?"

He smiled.

"Of course, I'll shove over to make room" 

Leon climbed back into bed, shifting over so that Sherry could move in beside him. He gave her a kiss on the head.

"Sweet dreams" he said, and lay his head on the pillow, closing his eyes.

It was just as well he'd closed his eyes, because Sherry couldn't help but cover her flushed cheeks.

She put her arms around him, and snuggled up.

He put his hand on hers. 

'_Oh Leon, if only it could be like this forever…'_

Rebecca was the first to wake up, gently turning her head to see the bedside digital clock to see the numbers 9:00 blur into view. She blinked a couple of times, and then after a few minutes she slowly sat up. 

Her first night had been a good one, no disturbances, no nothing. She slid out of bed, grabbed a bathrobe from the hook on the door, and wrapped it around herself as she stepped out onto the landing, yawning. 

Rebecca walked across the landing towards the shower…and faltered. She was very tempted to sneak a peek at Leon while he slept. Her mind told her it was a rather sad thing to do, and she knew herself that just watching him sleep wasn't going to earn her any bonus points…but she just wanted to see him. How she felt was something that she knew nobody else could ever get. She'd had several crushes before, one on Chris, she remembered that one. But it had passed, she'd got the impression that Chris was in love with Jill Valentine anyway, so it had seemed pointless to pursue that.

Then she'd met Leon Kennedy. She was immediately entranced, in a way that she had never felt before, and she'd been disappointed when him and Sherry had left Barry's house where they'd all been having one of their strategy meetings. A month or two later, and Barry called to say that she was probably in danger – She'd asked why, and he'd said it was because he'd been staking out her house, and had spotted a couple of fishy looking guys in black suits wandering around her house whilst she'd been out. He said they were probably planning something, so it would be best if she got out of town.

Rebecca had pointed out that she had nowhere to stay – Until Barry suggested that she contact Leon and ask if she could stay with him.

Rebecca's stomach had been practically in her mouth, and she'd garbled some rubbish about him probably not trusting her – so Barry offered to call for her. The truth was, she was too scared of making a fool of herself over the phone. It wasn't the sort of thing you did to a prospective boyfriend. She giggled to herself. She knew that work went into getting a boyfriend – but she was prepared to work for that. Besides, it wasn't the status that attracted her- It was Leon that attracted her. 

She decided to go for it. She crept towards Leon's door – and opened it slightly.

She looked on as he lay there, still asleep…

She froze. Sherry was sleeping beside him. 

'Oh damnit! If Sherry wakes up, that's the end of the road!' she thought hurriedly, and quickly but quietly left towards the shower.

She mentally cursed herself, and grumbled as she went into the bathroom. Why did Sherry have to get in the way? What was her problem? If she hadn't been there, she would have probably been able to watch him for a few tender moments.

She was beginning to wonder if Sherry and her would really get on. Sherry had been quite rude to her at the beginning of the evening…what had she done to earn that? Sherry was okay the rest of the time…but somehow, when Leon cropped up in the subject, Sherry suddenly became kind of aggressive.

What was the problem?

She shrugged, and got into the shower. She worked that out if she studied Sherry a little harder – To see what the real story was, then she would find out what was going on.

**END OF PART 2**


	3. Default Chapter Title

Leon was the last down to the breakfast table, Sherry was the first. She had got down extra quick, just to make sure Rebecca wouldn't be there. Sherry had felt, at least for a while, that she had had the situation under firm control.

She now knew that this was untrue. She was annoyed with herself for actually admitting to herself that she was pretty obsessed with keeping Rebecca out of the way. 

Downstairs, Sherry was in her bathrobe still, wearing big fluffy bunny slippers that her Aunt Kate had given to her as a Christmas present about a year ago, which was unusual since Aunt Kate, while being a nice person didn't have the best eye for Christmas presents, sending her stuff that a four year old would have been thrilled with when she was ten.

Sherry sat at the table, yawning and pouring herself some cereal. Rebecca was second down, and for the first few minutes, the soporific atmosphere sat heavily on their shoulders, even after showers that supposedly woke you up.

Rebecca decided to try and open the conversation. Unfortunately, the conversation was like trying to have a conversation with the Russian Prime Minister – Very awkward.

"So…Good night's sleep, Sherry?"

"Not bad"

"Good"

Silence. The tension could have been cut with a knife.

"Uh…So…" Rebecca looked around desperately, trying to bring an atmosphere to the table. 

"What?" Sherry asked, a little too harshly for Rebecca's liking.

"Just trying to be friendly" Rebecca muttered.

"Well I'm fine as I am" Sherry replied, having heard what she'd said. 

'She must think I'm stupid' Sherry thought, mentally shaking her head.

"I thought that you'd at least try to talk – We're not exactly getting on like a house on fire, are we?" Rebecca pointed out.

"No" Sherry replied "More like a house that's already been burned"

Rebecca narrowed her eyes.

"Are you trying to insult me?"

Sherry cocked her head

"What ever gives you that idea?"

"Ever since I arrived, you've been so…cold! What have I done exactly to earn this?"

Sherry bowed her head slightly, putting on an expression that could only be accurately described as granite.

"You arrived…need I say more?"

"Sherry, cut the cr*p and TELL ME!" Rebecca snapped.

Sherry nodded.

"Fine…Get this sister, Leon is NOT yours for the taking. You don't deserve him, neither are you going to get him – ever" 

Rebecca clenched her fist.

"And what makes you think we couldn't get together?"

"Because, just in case you're blind, he's not interested!"  
"Oh really, asked him have you?"

"No, but I can tell – Everything was perfect until you arrived!"  
"I'm under the impression I'm not the only one with eyes for Leon in this household!"

Sherry shook her head.

"I don't know what you're talking about"

"Really? It's SO obvious you've got an unbelievable crush on him - The way you cling to him, the way you snuggle up to him as if he's your boyfriend, which he isn't considering he's more than ten years older than you and therefore removing all chances YOU have with him!"

Sherry stood up, enraged.

"Is this a declaration of war?"

"You can damn well bet it is!!" Rebecca replied, standing up too. Flames danced in Sherry's eyes for a moment. She would have hit Rebecca. She'd probably have tried to grievously wound her, if it wasn't for the fact that Leon came down the stairs at just that moment.

He stepped around the corner of the doorway, and as if on cue, the two of them sat down quickly as if nothing had happened. 

"Hey ladies, I heard shouting down here – Somebody burn their toast?" 

He raised an eyebrow with a slight smile.

Sherry and Rebecca allowed faint smiles to him, but as they looked at each other, the thunder returned for just a moment, before obscenely strong self control allowed Sherry to haul back her emotions and quell her temper. Her self-control was so strong she could have been a Jedi Knight. 

It was just as well it was only fifteen minutes since he'd woken up, so it was predictable he wouldn't have been able to detect the hostility in the room.

Leon sat down, smiled again, and set to making his breakfast.

Sherry and Rebecca exchanged furious glances over the table. From now on, it was war.

"So, how did you sleep?" Rebecca asked Leon, leaning forwards on her elbows, doing that 'puppy dog' thing with her eyelashes.

"Pretty well, yourself?"

"Like a log" she replied.

Leon turned to Sherry.

"How about you, little princess? How's about you?"

Sherry blushed a deep red, smiling a smile that was both coy and touched. 

She brought her eye downwards, and just underneath the table-cloth she could see the legs of Rebecca and Leon. Leon's weren't moving, but Rebecca…she could see that she was slowly but surely edging her right leg towards Leon, trying to get closer.

Sherry's eyes narrowed.

As casually as she could manage, she leaned back, and kicked her legs out as hard as she could. Her feet smacked into Rebecca's leg with a satisfying CRACK.

"OUCH!" Rebecca exclaimed, withdrawing her leg instantly.

"I'm so _sorry_" Sherry was trying her best not to laugh "I didn't realise your leg was there, I was just stretching. Did it hurt?"

"Yes it did! You little-"

Leon held out his arm, face suddenly stern. 

"Now stop that Rebecca, Sherry didn't mean any harm"

Sherry smirked with triumph, but quickly withdrew it when he turned to her.

"And I think that that was kind of irresponsible, to kick out with your legs like that"

Leon was the most mature person in the house, Rebecca and Sherry had to admit. Rebecca may have been eighteen, but she was still, essentially, a child – Her maturity hadn't caught up with her yet.

"Sorry" Sherry muttered.

Leon shook his head.

"This is not a good start to a first day with Rebecca, Sherry – And I think that you should keep some degree of self-control Rebecca"

Still talking like a cop, Sherry thought, that was one of the things she loved about him. He was always saying not to worry, and that everything would be okay…But unlike most people, he actually meant it. Everything Leon said was true, in Sherry's opinion. He said that he'd look after and protect her forever, whatever the consequences – And she knew without a doubt that this was true.

Not for the first time, a fierce pride and joy that SHE was staying with Leon S. Kennedy arose within her. 

__

'Oh Leon' she thought _'If only you knew – We could be together forever…'_

Sherry sighed.

"Oh, ladies" Leon suddenly said "I thought we could all go out for a meal tonight, to patch any misgivings we have about each other up"

"Great idea!" Rebecca chirped.

"Yeah!" Sherry added – but then she looked for a second meaning behind his words. Why would Rebecca be so excited about a meal? 

What's that little schemer after, Sherry pondered, is it Leon?

She suddenly flew into a mental rage. If Rebecca was going to try to shine Leon on, she'd show her what attractive really meant…

****

END OF PART 3

Note: Sorry it's been so long, and sorry it's so short, but I have been kinda busy with another series of mine, the first part of which will be up soon also. It's a Resi-Evil Blair Witch Crossover (don't worry, no wobbly cameras or stupid people) which is more to do with the legend of the Blair Witch rather than any of the characters or films – In fact, it probably has more in common with the Blair Witch game!

Well, catch ya later! I've got writing to do, and don't panic – I'm also writing part 4 (maybe the last?) episode of 'Sherry's first, her last, her everything'! STAY TUNED!


	4. The Dinner

Sherry looked at herself in the mirror. Overall, she felt satisfied with her appearance. Her motto at the beginning of the evening was 'Dress to Kill' and that was precisely what she was trying to do.

If it meant winning over Leon someday and preventing Rebecca from doing to Leon what she presumably did with every guy she'd been out with, then she would have worn anything.

To this end, she'd chosen a knee length skirt, smart shirt and had even tried to find some appropriate high heels. She wasn't by nature a 'high-heels' person, and getting Leon to help her find a pair that didn't make her look like a complete berk had been quite tricky. Overall, she felt impressed. She'd made her own secretive purchases that day, mostly in the form of make-up, none of which she had in her possession. 

She'd even bought some nail varnish.

Sherry had no qualms about dressing like she did. She was a growing girl, and why shouldn't she have the right to dress properly? Hopefully it would work. Sherry, having just finished conditioning herself, was suddenly overcome by that suspicious gut feeling that started in her stomach and filtered up through her body until it permeated her entire being.

What was Rebecca up to?

Her eyes narrowed as she thought of what Rebecca would be wearing. Probably something succinctly 'revealing' that she hoped would catch Leon's attention.

__

'Not a chance' Sherry thought _'He's mine'_

The suspicious feeling that had come over her had grown strong enough to tempt Sherry into sneaking a peek into Rebecca's room, so Sherry left her own room, and tiptoed down the landing. She wasn't wearing her high heels yet, so therefore she didn't make a sound like the largest typewriter in the world, instead making a soft padding on the carpet of the landing. Leon was downstairs, whistling. Rebecca's door was open a fraction, so she peered inside the crack in the door.

She saw Rebecca in front of the mirror. Sherry clenched her fists in rage, almost shaking with fury. Rebecca HAD indeed decided to wear something sexy, and while Sherry hated to admit it, Rebecca was looking quite attractive in her tiny black Gucci number, which made Sherry wonder from where she had got the darned thing. 

But this indicated to Sherry everything she had not wanted to know – Rebecca WAS intending on making a move that night, everything pointed towards it.

Sherry heard Rebecca mutter

"Good one, Becky…You'll knock that hunk dead in this number rest assured…Yeah, he's mine…"

__

'Knock that hunk dead?' Sherry thought _'That's the funniest phrase I've heard in a long time'_

Sherry stamped off back to her room, not caring if she made a noise or not. She knew she was jealous, it consumed her like a burning fire, but now she had a mission objective that was absolutely essential to complete: 

'Sherry Birkin, your mission, if you choose to accept it is this:' an inner voice said, calmly. 

  1. Don't let Rebecca get anywhere near Leon.
  2. DON'T LET THEM KISS!!
  3. Don't make it obvious to Leon that you're madly and electrically in love with him.

Sherry nodded, firmly. This would be over in a matter of hours. It was real war, and Sherry had just positioned her pieces. Rebecca wouldn't know what the hell hit her.

Leon was downstairs, brushing some dust off his jacket. It wasn't a tux and tails affair, but it was still a 'smart but casual' occasion. Well, he was ready…but he had to wait for the girls to ready themselves too.

Leon wasn't stupid. He knew he wasn't, but the friction between both Rebecca and Sherry was obvious even to him. If they thought he hadn't noticed then at least one of them obviously thought that his brain was less functional than the Hubble telescope; Sherry and Rebecca didn't like each other one bit, and Leon was already starting to dread the days of tension that lay ahead…what exactly was it that made them fall out like that?

Some kind of disagreement, perhaps? Maybe a difference of opinion? 

He'd got signals that Rebecca had the hots for him, and he was dreading the night that she'd try to make some kind of a move onto him – Tonight's endeavour was to try and patch things up between the two girls, whatever was wrong.

He heard a padding on the stairs, and as he looked, Sherry ran down the stairs. She stopped at the bottom, and did a little spin for him.

"What do you think?" she asked.

He smiled.

"Wonderful" he said "Simply wonderful"

Sherry smiled, coquettishly.

She walked up to him, and gave him a tight hug. Surprised by the sudden hug, he squeezed her back.

He heard another similar sound, which sounded almost the same as before…

It was Rebecca. She looked, Leon admitted, extremely attractive. She was also smiling sweetly, in a manner that Sherry treated with a flicker of distaste.

"Oh, hey Leon…" she said, in a voice that was trying very hard to be innocent, but couldn't have been more coy "…Whaddya think?"

He smiled, appreciatively.

"Uh…Beautiful, what can I say?"

Leon felt uneasy about her, especially when she sauntered up and wrapped an arm around him, which nearly made him squirm.

"So are we…uh…" he felt her hand drift casually across his thigh, he gulped "…going?"

Leon stepped back in a calm, fluid motion that made Rebecca release her grip on him, and made Sherry smirk.

"Yes" he said, forcing a smile back onto his face.

Rebecca smiled too, Leon wasting no time in grabbing the keys to the car and opening the front door, allowing the girls to leave first before closing the door behind him.

Sherry just beat Rebecca to the front passenger seat, and couldn't resist poking her tongue out at her as she sat in her seat. Rebecca scowled at her, and then sat down in the back.

Sherry was nearly grinning like a captive in a lunatic asylum. This would be easier than she thought. 

Leon started the car up, and started it off down the road.

He was terrified of her, Sherry realised, he was terrified of her and she couldn't pick it up! 

'She doesn't know he's practically terrified of her' she thought, and then smiled dreamily 'That means that he doesn't have the hots for her…'

At least that was sorted out. But Rebecca would still try. Sherry knew this, and felt in her bones that Rebecca would try to come onto Leon.

'Wait and see' Sherry decided 'Wait and see…this'll be fun'

The evening was great. They were all talking, all rivalries almost totally forgotten what with the food and drink, Rebecca even laughed at Sherry's jokes!

Rebecca was either drunk, forgetful…Sherry suddenly felt her same paranoid and jealous feeling fill her up as Rebecca took a sip of champagne…'Or she's buttering me up' she thought. 

The realisation hit her.

'She's trying to get me out of the way by giving Leon the impression we're getting on…and then?' 

Leon suddenly stood up, stretching like a dog that was just about to go on a walk.

"I'm getting some fresh air, be back in a few minutes" he said, and then walked towards the exit of the restaurant. 

Sherry spun around to Rebecca.

"Don't you dare" Sherry warned, voice stony "Don't even think about daring!"

Rebecca smiled, smugly, and stood up.

"Too late" Rebecca called back, walking out.

Sherry wad furious, shoulders practically shaking with rage. GODDAMMIT!!! How could she have the dammed NERVE?!! 

Sherry realised that it was left up to Leon now. It was up to Leon to see that Sherry's dream stayed alive.

She stood up slowly, and walked slowly to the exit. She stood by the door, and watched Leon sit on the bench, Rebecca sitting down too.

Nothing left to do but wait…

Leon exhaled in the cold, evening air and stared out across the city. He missed Claire, especially at moments like this. But she was out there somewhere, with her brother…and he might not ever see her again. The thought almost made him cry.

He realised that Rebecca was sitting beside him.

"Oh…hi Rebecca" he said, forcing another smile.

"Hey Leon" she said, casually. 

There was the slight sound of material rubbing on something, and Leon realised that Rebecca had edged closer to him.

"Having a good time?" he asked nervously.

"Oh…spectacular" she said, softly. 

She looked at him hard, and then gently placed her hand on his thigh, sliding her other arm around his waist…Rebecca raised her left leg, and dropped it over Leon's own legs.

Leon was as rigid as a board, eyes wide and worried.

"…mmm…Spectacular…" she whispered, as she slid over him, kissing his neck. Then, she kissed further up his neck, onto his chin….

"God I love you Leon" she said in the same tone of voice "I think you're the most goddamm sexy guy I've ever met…"

She kissed him on the lips.

Leon's eyes widened, and he gently pushed her aside, panting for breath.

"No…No!" he gasped "Not like that!"  
Rebecca looked at him, pouting.

"Have I been bad?" she asked, in a playful tone of voice.

"Rebecca!" Leon got his familiar authoritarian voice back "Listen to me. I think you've got the wrong idea about me"

"Believe me, I haven't" she said again, and tried to kiss him, but he held her back bodily, like an owner trying to prevent a mad dog from biting his throat.

"Rebecca, I don't love you…"

Rebecca leaned back, face confused.

Leon took a deep breath.

"Rebecca, I know you've got a crush on me. I know you have. Believe me, I'm really flattered…but I don't want this"

"I…don't understand" she whispered, voice serious, but timid.

"You see" he said "I just can't reciprocate your feelings for me. I can't and I don't want to love you like a girlfriend, because we're not right together! You are attractive, but you're just not my type! Can't you see that?"

Rebecca looked at him, a little hurt.

He smiled softly, his first genuine, emotional smile of the evening towards her. 

"Rebecca, you are a wonderful girl. Nobody can take that away from you. But I'm not your man. There IS a man for you, but he'll be coming along soon…not now. I just want us to be good friends. Nothing more"

Rebecca nodded, understanding.

"But Sherry-"

"Sherry's like…a daughter, maybe even a little sister, and I care for her…but don't worry about her, she doesn't really hate you"

"But!"

Leon put his finger on his lips.

"Sssh. Let's go and pay the bill…and go home. Please, I don't want you to be ashamed of yourself"  
Rebecca suddenly broke down in tears, and she fell against him, and he hugged her.

"I feel so stupid…!" she cried through her tears.

"Don't" he said "It could happen to anybody. Even me"

Sherry had watched all of this with interest, and for the first time, gained a little respect for that highly irritating life form called Rebecca Chambers. For the first time since Rebecca arrived, Sherry felt a great deal of sympathy for her. This was an evolution, a change in Rebecca that Sherry regarded as a good one.

Maybe…an apology was in order. She nodded to herself, yes maybe that would be a good idea. But despite her new view on Rebecca, that didn't change her triumphant feeling of having defended her one and only true love from the clutches of another woman. This didn't change how she felt about Leon though…she was still in love with him. Had he figured it? She didn't think so, and Rebecca obviously hadn't blabbed. So her secret was safe. For now.

As she sat with him in the front seat, Rebecca napping in the back, Sherry leaned on Leon's arm, smiling softly.

Rebecca left two days later. Barry had called and said that Rebecca could go back to her apartment, so both Sherry and Leon helped her pack.

Sherry saw Rebecca packing in her room.

She walked up to her, nervously. 

"Uh…Rebecca?"

Rebecca turned a little, her face slightly red.

"Yeah?"

"I just…wanted to say I'm sorry for everything…Everything I've done"

Rebecca smiled, softly.

"It's okay…you were right all along…" she bowed her head a little "I guess I'm the one who should apologise"

Sherry nodded.

"Don't worry about it" she then promptly changed the subject "I hope your apartment hasn't been trashed by Umbrella or anything" 

"I'm sure it hasn't" 

Rebecca left in a taxi. Leon had offered to drive her, but Rebecca told him not to worry about it. As they stood there on the doorstep, waving away the rapidly disappearing car.

Sherry clung to Leon, who held her tight. Sherry smiled to herself. She'd won. She looked up at the only man she would ever love. It'd be several years, she felt, but she could wait.

__

Oh Leon she thought _Someday…we'll be together, and when we are…we'll be together, forever_.

AUTHORS NOTE:

Whew! Finished it at last! I hope that ending satisfied you all, but now I'm back to work on my other series. BACK TO WORK! Say if you want an epilogue or alternative ending! 

Ciao!

-MARK 'MANIX' ODELL


End file.
